Falling Down, I will be by your side
by rowandaze
Summary: Danny takes care of Steve after the events of Ua Hopu and secrets are revealed.


It takes nearly three hours to process Wo Fat. There isn't paperwork to suit Steve's unorthodox arrival into Hawaii and despite the Governor's relief that Jameson's killer has finally been caught he isn't entirely happy with how it has all gone down. He doesn't need to give Steve more than a quick once over to see that the man is exhausted and word of the plane crash is travelling fast so he gives Steve 24 hours to get some rest before his debrief.

Steve knows he is close to an adrenaline crash, even with all his training he isn't certain how he is still upright, every ache and bruise is starting to come alive and he hones in on the pain to focus himself. The paperwork is all done, he just needs to get Wo Fat checked by the prison medical team and in to lock up and then he can stop and crash.

"Babe, you really don't need to stand guard over him like this, I'm sure the highly trained prison guards are more than capable of making sure he gets to into his nice, cosy cell" Danny says, his voice softer than usual.

"Danny I need to see this done right, after all this, I have to" Steve holds Danny gaze, his eyes too guarded, too alert for Danny's liking.

"Alright, ok, but at least relax the parade stance, I can see the muscles in your neck spasm and that can't be good for you". Steve relaxes, just a little, allowing his shoulders to drop, he feels Danny's hand on his back and its good and it's warm, reassuring and calming. For all his bluster and whirlwind energy Danny can be the definition of calm when he needs to be and Steve needs him to be right now. Steve leans into the touch a little more than he would normally allow himself and can't help the slight sigh that escapes from his lips as he relaxes. If Danny notices he doesn't say anything, just stands by his side, hand on Steve's back and vows to himself to stay like that as long as Steve needs.

Steve speaks to the prison doctor and tells him about the crash landing and the fight before leading Wo Fat into the treatment room. He is determined that everything is done right; Wo Fat will not get away on some kind of technicality. He tries to sit in on the medical, not trusting Wo Fat around medical equipment that can be used as weapons but the doctor won't allow it and Steve is forced to wait outside the curtain. Wo Fat for his part hasn't said a word since the airfield. He shoots Steve the occasional steely glare but Steve can see that his prisoner is close to giving into exhaustion.

"Bruises, contusions, lacerations, strained muscles, fatigue and mild dehydration" the doctor catalogues Wo Fat's injuries when he is finished the examination "nothing serious but he is going to hurt for a few days, I would suggest you let me have a look at you Lt. Cmdr. McGarrett, while you are here, no doubt you are in the same shape as your prisoner"

"I'm good, thanks doctor, just a bit sore" Steve shrugs.

"Steve, let the nice man take a look at you"

"Danny, I'm good, just some bruises, nothing I can't deal with"

Danny can see the stern set of Steve's jaw and knows he isn't going to win "Babe at least let the doc check your head, you look like you bashed it off a tree and I for one do not want you to die in your sleep from some kind of brain trauma, so please for my sake, so I don't spend what is left of this night worrying about you, let him look at you"

"Alright Danno, anything to shut you up for 5 minutes" Danny can hear the smirk behind Steve's words and pushes Steve towards a seat.

"No concussion but you are a bit sensitive to light, not surprising really, you have a fairly sizable lump on your head" the doctor announces after a quick eye and head check. "I would suggest that someone stays with you for the next 24 hours, just to be safe, I can give you a leaflet of symptoms to look out for, again just in case"

"Believe me doc we are both overly familiar with those symptoms but thanks and I will keep an eye on him" Danny assures the doctor.

When Wo Fat is finally behind bars all that is left of Steve's energy leaves him at one go. His legs go to jelly and his vision greys out "Whoa, easy there" Danny worries as he catches Steve around the waist. "Come on let's get you back to the doc and get the rest of you checked out" "I just need sleep Danny" Steve's voice is raw but he is pulling himself back together and as much as Danny wants to have him examined he knows that Steve is right, that sleep is what will really help him. "Alright, alright, come on; let's get you to your bed Cinderella" and leads Steve from the prison keeping a tight grasp of Steve's arm as the exit.

"Kono or Chin bless your hearts" Danny practically sings when he sees the Camaro parked outside the prison. "Where was the car earlier Danny?" Steve asks. He hadn't fully taken in its absence at the airfield "that, my friend, is a story for tomorrow after the sleep; the many hours of sleep now get in the car." Steve is asleep within seconds of Danny starting the engine and Danny drives them back to Steve's house.

Steve jolts awake, surprised to find himself in his driveway with the car door open "Come on Sleeping Beauty, rise and shine" Steve can't quite get himself out of the car and Danny reaches in to haul him out. Steve can't help the groan he lets out and lets Danny's solid build take his weight as he leads them to the front door. Wrecked and all as he is he can't help enjoy the closeness to Danny, to allow himself to be supported by him, touch him in a way he can never let himself do.

"Jeez, you stink McGarrett; you couldn't find time to take a shower when you were running around the jungle? What kinda ninja are you? I bet Rambo would have managed a shower, hell Rambo would have built a shower, out of logs or some shit" Danny's rambling acts as a distraction for Steve as he painfully makes his way up the stairs. He can't find the energy to respond but as he utters a croaked thanks as Danny helps him drop down onto the bed. "Right, you start getting undressed and I'll run you a bath" "Danny" "no, no arguments, I know you are tired but you smell and you will not rest well sleeping covered in muck and blood and besides it will be easier to clean those cuts up and I'm sure your muscles could do with the heat, so no buts, bath then bed" Danny says all this with the exact same look he gives Grace when she is wants to stay up a little longer and he insists that its bedtime. Steve smiles fondly at the look "No, yeah, I get that I need to wash but I was going to say I will take a shower, that's all" Steve's voice is still painfully hoarse.

"Oh, well, no, a bath is safer, no chance of passing out and hitting your head"

"Not gonna pass out, it's quicker, be in and out in three minutes"

"Steven, I would believe you more about not passing out if you take off your own boots without looking like you are about to nosedive off the bed" Danny snarks as he bends to help Steve out of the boots. "Daniel, I am not arguing with you, I am taking a shower" Steve announces as he painfully pulls himself off the bed. "Fine but if you die in there I am leaving your body in the shower til the morning, I do not have the energy to deal with the coroner's office right now".

Danny eases himself down on Steve's bed as he listens to the shower turn on. He is exhausted, the thing with the CIA has left him worn out and more than a little freaked out and the altercation at the airport almost gave him a heart attack. He wants nothing more than to lie down but he knows as bad as he feels Steve feels ten times worse so he picks himself up and heads down to get some coffee so he is awake enough to play nursemaid.

Danny drinks his coffee, checking the time and noticing that Steve is still in the shower. As the time stretches on Danny starts to worry. Steve may be beat to hell but he is still Steve and a shower that long is a crime in the former SEAL's rulebook.

"Hey, McGarrett, you better be asleep in there and not unconscious because I swear to god I am not dragging your naked ass out of there. Steve, seriously buddy, I am giving you thirty seconds before I am opening this door because you have been there for at least ten minutes and whilst that is normal by the average person's standards I am sure you have broken at least fifteen army regulations by using up that much water"

Danny hears a mumbled "navy" that sounds way to pained for his liking "that's it, I'm opening the door" and pulls back the shower door. He is hit by heat that is too hot for anyone to handle, steam billowing out at him. He can barely make out a dazed Steve pressed up against the tiles, head resting on one arm, the other dangling loosely by his side "Christ Steven, are you trying to boil what is left of your brains? You're a friggin' Navy SEAL and I can't leave you alone to take a shower without trying to get yourself killed" Steve rouses slightly as Danny turns the water to cool and manages to yelp indignantly as he feels Danny reach out to touch his forehead "you are a danger to yourself my friend and you have gotten my clothes wet, thank you very much for that, I told you to have a bath but no, you can't listen to reason, you decide to try and shower yourself to death when you were in a plane crash and a jungle death match. A plane crash Steven". The cooler water seems to have an effect on Steve as he because more aware of his surroundings "wasn't a plane crash Danno, it was a crash landing" "a crash landing, a crash, the hell? I don't even know why I bother, come on, out of here now and don't even try to fight me on this one" Danny grabs Steve by the shoulder, turns off the water and pulls Steve who can't quite get his legs to steady. It takes all Danny's willpower not to pay attention to the fact that Steve is naked in front of him and despite being bruised and cut, Steve looks good, he has gained back the weight he had lost during the last few stressful months since Korea. Danny steals himself and focuses on helping his hurt partner, not perving over him. Steve is pliant as Danny half drags him and sits him down on the closed toilet and god help him if Danny's heart doesn't do some kind of flip at the trust that Steve is giving him, allowing himself to be so vulnerable in front of him. "Your head is bleeding again buddy, sit there while I get the first aid kit, I mean it Steve, don't move". Steve's eyes are fluttering closed but he is slowly coming back to himself and opens his mouth to argue. One glare and raised finger from Danny stops him before he says a word.

Danny comes back a minute later, first aid kit in one hand and a large glass of water in the other "Drink this, you are far too hot and I'm sure you are dehydrated. Why you wouldn't let the prison doc check you out is beyond me." Danny keeps up his tirade but his energy is sagging and as pissed off at Steve as he is beginning to feel sorry for how tired Steve looks, Steve who can't quite keep his head up or hold the glass without his arm and hand shaking. "Babe, you really are a mess" Danny says softly as he swabs at Steve's cuts with peroxide. The sting of the peroxide and the water helps Steve clear the cobwebs from his mind and as Danny gets down on one knee to tend to the scrapes on Steve's chest, his hand resting gently on Steve's thigh, Steve becomes all too aware of his nakedness. "Em, Danny?" he awkwardly nudges Danny's hand, "could you em, could you?" and points his chin towards a towel on the railing. Danny is so unaccustomed to see embarrassment flit across Steve's face that he actually has to follow where Steve looks to understand what he means "Oh, right, sorry, just so used to you taking your shirt off at inappropriate moments that I figured you wouldn't mind being completely naked, anyway don't you navy boys all shower together anyway?" Danny rambles, a little awkwardly, as he grabs a towel and drapes it over Steve's lap, "there, now your modesty is protected, princess" Danny says with a grin that he hopes covers his own embarrassment. He tries to listen to the voice that is thundering in his head "be cool Williams, don't think about his tattoos, don't think about his acres of tanned skin and perfect torso, don't think about his …. Fucks sakes, get a grip" Danny's knee is aching as he works the cotton swab over Steve's cuts and rest his hand on Steve's thigh again for leverage. As he works from one cut to the other he can feel the tension between them. Danny knows what this unspoken thing is. Everyone knows. He knows Steve knows full well. Can feel it in looks, in touches, in the irrational way they have come to depend on each other for everything, how they live in each other's pockets. They love each other, plain and simple only it's not plain, it's not simple and it's not likely to ever be.

Danny is taken out of his reverie by a pained groan from Steve as his hands pass over a particularly deep gash on Steve's side "Sorry, think this could have done with a stich, you stubborn fucker" Steve wheezes out a laugh at that and Danny presses butterfly stiches with a little more force than necessary. "There now, my Florence Nightingale routine is done" Danny says but he still hasn't moved his hand from Steve's thigh and Steve has made no effort to move.

"You good?" Danny doesn't give Steve a chance to answer, just lifts his hand from Steve's leg and Steve almost gasps at the loss of contact. Danny reaches into his pocket and pulls out painkillers "The doc in in the prison gave me these and you are taking them, no arguments." He empties two into his hand, giving them to Steve who gratefully accepts them "Wasn't going to argue. I hurt" Steve pouts. Steve "friggin ninja SEAL" McGarrett pouts and Danny, Danny should piss himself laughing at that but he can't. His hearts melts at the sight of Mister Tall Muscled and Tattooed pouting like a little kid. He screwed, so very screwed. "You really are tired babe" he voice soft, his gaze softer as he puts his hand on the side of Steve's neck, tilting his head up slightly his thumb kneading at a knot just behind Steve's ear.

Steve nods a yes so slightly that Danny feels it rather than sees it. The pain of his body is dulling slightly thanks to the painkillers, his thoughts getting a little hazier. He relaxes into the touch. He relaxes a little too much, the exhaustion, the painkillers, the relief of being home, of finding Wo Fat and his guard is dropped, dropped more than he has ever dropped it before around Danny. He is defenceless and exhausted and on some kind of sensory overload and Danny's hand on his neck, his body so close, the heat from his body radiating into Steve's shirtless body is all too much for him.

He lets out a ragged breath, one word caught on hoarse whisper "Danny" and he prays to god that somehow Danny won't see his erection, tenting the bath towel that's draped over him. That Danny won't see the tears of frustration, of desperation that are filling is eyes. "Oh babe, when I imagined seeing that" Danny casts his eyes downwards "I never imagined you beaten up on the verge of collapse but then knowing you I should have guessed it would be like this" "Danny?" Steve's voice has gotten even more ragged "I know, babe, I know" and Danny leans in, rest his forehead against Steve's and stays like that, neither one moving, breaths falling in sync.

They stay like that for another few minutes, the time stretching out between them. Danny moves back a little, and Steve, Steve jolts a little, a whimper escaping as the jolt rattles each and every one of his injuries.

"Come on babe, bed" Danny almost whispers and leans in to help Steve up but Steve just sits there, eyes not really tracking and Danny begins to think that Steve is mostly asleep and that sheer will and training the only thing keeping his eyes open.

It's awkward trying to move Steve, his legs not really working as Danny half shuffles, half drags him to the bed, the towel falls off half way there and Steve doesn't notice but Danny has this sudden need to cover Steve up, to protect him. He wonders if Steve will even remember what happened in the bathroom and has a strong need not to let him feel uncomfortable in the morning, so he grabs a pair of shorts and awkwardly dresses Steve in them before wrestling Steve in to the bed.

Steve is asleep within seconds and Danny, too tired to go downstairs and knowing he will need to check on Steve in a couple of hours, strips off his clothes and climbs into the bed beside Steve.

"D'nny?" Steve barely mumbles, "Shush, babe, go to sleep babe, its ok", Danny reassures, running his hand up and down Steve's arm to soothe him. Steve blindly reaches out for Danny, his eyes slightly open as he curls into Danny as though it's the most natural thing in the world, as he if did it every night of the week and its natural and he fits and Danny never wants him to be anywhere else but here, like this by his side but that's not their life and not how things work and as he repeats his reassurance of "its ok, babe, its ok" he knows it not, it's so very far from right and he wonders, painfully, if it ever will be.


End file.
